The present invention generally relates to the field of fluid treatment. More specifically, it is directed to a treatment unit for treating a fluid in continuous. The treatment unit may advantageously be used for the removal of a substrate contained in a fluid either by its capture or by its biological transformation.
Already known in the art and especially in the industries or the research/analysis laboratories, are treatment units for treating a fluid which generally operate either in batch or continuously. Very few of those units rely on the principle of baffles when enzymatic treatment or any other biological treatment are involved.
Overall, treatment units of the art often use, as reactive materials, enzymes or microorganisms confined, for instance, in a gel or held at the surface or incorporated to a membrane. Examples of such treatment units are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,057,421 and 5,772,887.
While the treatment units known in the art have resulted to the advancement within the present field, an important problem in this area continues to persist. This problem arises from the fact that the treatment units known in the art do not allow the removal of the reactive material support during the treatment process, and furthermore they do not provide the opportunity to carry out simultaneously the enzymatic transformation and the capture of a fluid element. Therefore, an interruption of the treatment process, for instance, after the saturation of the membranes or the weakening of the reactive material activity, leads to operation procedures which are very long and by the same token very expensive.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a treatment unit for treating a fluid that will overcome these drawbacks.
In accordance with the present invention, that object is achieved with a treatment unit for treating a fluid in continuous mode. The unit comprises a reservoir which includes a fluid inlet for receiving a fluid to be treated and a fluid outlet for releasing a treated fluid, whereby a fluid in the reservoir is flowing from the fluid inlet towards the fluid outlet. The unit also comprises at least one cassette provided with a reactive material for treating the fluid and at least two spaced-apart baffle walls in the reservoir for regulating the flow of the fluid therein. A reaction chamber having an opening for removably inserting therein one of the at least one cassette is defined between each of the at least two spaced-apart baffle walls, Yet, the unit further comprises mounting means for mounting the at least one cassettes in a reaction chamber spaced-apart from the two baffle walls, whereby a cassette being disposed between two spaced apart baffle walls causes the fluid to flow in a zigzag pattern thus further regulating the flow of the fluid.
The present invention is also directed to a combination of a treatment unit as defined above with a similar treatment unit. The combination comprises connecting means for connecting the treatment units together.
The present invention also proposes a method for treating a fluid in continuous mode. The method comprises the steps of:
a) providing a treatment unit as defined above;
b) inserting in the reaction chamber defined between each of the at least two spaced-apart baffle walls a cassette provided with a reactive material;
c) mounting the cassette in the reaction chamber spaced-apart from the baffle walls and thereby defining a zigzag path between the baffle walls and the cassette for a flow of fluid flowing across the reservoir; and
d) continuously supplying the reservoir of the treatment unit with a fluid to be treated and containing a substrate, thereby causing the fluid to flow across the reaction chamber following the zigzag path and wherein the substrate reacts with the reactive material of the cassette, and then towards the fluid outlet to release a treated fluid.
A treatment unit according to the present invention proposes innovative features that makes it an economical tool for research or industrial applications. As a matter of fact, because of the versatility of such treatment unit, it becomes easy to biotransform a substrate, as well as to capture a proteinic element contained in a fluid. Furthermore, the treatment unit allows the simultaneous use of different kinds of cassette such as a dialysis cassette and those having at their surface an immobilisation support to which is coupled a reactive material. Moreover, the treatment unit of the present invention proposes the use of removable cassettes which impart to this invention an advantageous multifunctional feature.